Melt 2 tbsp of butter in pan, add pecans and cook over medium heat until toasted. This may take approx. 10 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on those suckers! They can go from raw to toasted to burnt very quickly! Remove from heat and cook completely.

Beat cream cheese and 1/2 cup butter until creamy. Gradually add sugar and beat until fluffy. Stir in buttered pecans and vanilla, cover and chill at least one hour.

To make the cake:

Put chopped white chocolate in bowl and pour boiling water over the chocolate. Stir until smooth and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease three 9 inch round pans and line with wax paper. Then grease and flour the wax paper. If you don't do this, you may end up with cake crumbs.

Combine buttermilk and baking soda and set aside.

Beat butter until creamy. Gradually add sugar beating until fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time until incorporated. Stir in chocolate and vanilla. You may now add the cake flour to the mix alternating with buttermilk. Make sure to begin and end the flour. Mix on low until all blended together.

In another bowl, beat the egg white with stiff peaks form. Gently fold it into the cake batter. Evenly distribute the batter to the three cake pans.

Bake 20-23 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pans for about 10 minutes. Then you may turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. This may take approx. 30 minutes to 1 hour. Frost and enjoy the delicious taste of Butter Pecan Cake. Store in fridge.

I only made my cake with 2 layers. I had a little accident with the third layer. Oh well, I prefer a higher frosting content on my cake anyway!!